The Price
by saranghaeannie
Summary: Set two years after the Zero Requiem where Lelouch lost all his memories. CC and him were on a journey to get it back.


Disclaimer: Code Geass isn't mine.

June 4, 2020

The temperature felt hot and the air was heavy and humid. And somehow they ended up like this.

C.C. dropped the heavy bags she was holding and wiped the bead of sweat slowly dripping from her forehead. It felt a lot cooler inside the truck.

She turned her back from him, grabbed a change of clothes, and struggled to wipe her exposed chest and back with the former clothes she wore awhile back. She sheepishly looked at the person sitting at the corner of the truck and let out a small provoking smile.

"Must be nice to watch a girl changing in front of you, Lelouch?"

Of course, only a hollow sound reached his ears making it almost impossible to understand what she was saying. His violet orbs looked sunken and she wasn't sure if he was clearly seeing anything or not. Maybe he was. The boy can still walk wherever she directed him to.

When C.C. finished changing, she hung her used clothes at some corner of the truck. In this humidity, they'll probably dry by the morning.

"Now, let's get you changed."

She slowly unbuttoned his clothes. He was really drenched with sweat. She fumbled through the set of sleeves she brought for him and glad she found an old white long sleeve he was using when he was still in Ashford. She wiped his chest and back to dry them.

The scar was still there. Just above his heart. She traced the scar with her fingers feeling every bump that comes with it. The scar made it looked like he had a heart surgery as a boy.

Forgetting to unbutton his shirt, C.C. embraced him and positioned her ear just above his beating heart. It was a habit she's grown accustomed in doing every night as if to make sure that his heart did not stop beating. Lelouch sat passively like he always did every single day since Jeremiah and Shirley brought him to her.

But now he was warm. He felt so warm she can never go wrong that there was some life in his body.

_September 21, 2018_

_Blood. _

_The first thing she saw was blood. It was so thick the blood looked black. And it was coming from him like some flowing water that's never going to stop._

_Consciousness has finally left his mind and they were only a heartbeat away from losing his last remaining sense._

_There was no time to waste._

_Shirley._

June 4, 2020

The two lie on the mattress they've been carrying. C.C. made makeshift pillows out of the fabrics they got. She carefully lay him on the mattress. It was a quarter past 10 and she was surprised that Lelouch still hasn't closed his eyes.

She positioned Cheese-kun in between them but thought the better of it. In the end, she placed the rag doll on Lelouch's side of the makeshift bed. The temperature was starting to drop. She snuggled close to him and once again placed her ear on his chest making sure for the second time around that his heart was beating.

She was always afraid it might stop.

It was a faint heartbeat at the very least. But she was hearing it.

"You know Lelouch, an old lady found me awhile ago by the river. She asked what we were doing and why do we have lots of baggage with us. She also asked why you're just sitting at the edge of the truck."

She looked at him but the raven-head just kept blinking, his stare seemingly directed at some faraway thing.

"I said we were newly weds and we're migrating because our families didn't approve of us getting married. I told her you lost your sight and you were depressed about it."

She let out a small smile.

"Then, she told me some cliche story about how she and her husband eloped when they were our age."

Silence.

"If only she knew I was older than her grandmother."

C.C. smiled.

"Her husband died twenty years ago because of the war."

She buried her head on the nook of his neck, glad to feel the warm to prove he's still alive and there. But also not there.

"It is sad to say goodbye to a lover."

More silence.

"It's really sad that sometimes it kills people. It is painful to love and say goodbye. You can't possibly do that. There's no way I can kill myself.

You're not going to leave me, aren't you? You promised."

Lelouch was a liar. Of all people to know this, surely she was on top of the list. It was no guarantee that they can bring his memories back. There was no guarantee that he'll possibly come back.

But she wants to believe it.

After all, he still have to finish the other end of the contract.

He can't betray her now.

She's the only person he can't betray.

He can't leave her.

What will she do wandering through time with a heavy baggage on her chest? She was never alive. She was merely existing. And losing him will probably make her feel alive, because she'll carry the pain all the way through. And her existence will become a lot more painful.

Many, many centuries ago, she wished she knew this was the price of loving. If she knew it then, she would never have wished for it. She was naive and young and blinded by her admiration for the feeling. She didn't know love comes at a very expensive price. She could never afford it.

She buried her head on his chest as she felt the first hint of tears coming out of the corner of her eyes.

Maybe she loved Lelouch. Maybe she loves Lelouch.

She didn't know how that feels so how can she possibly be certain of it?

She felt clumsy hands patting the top of her head.

She will do everything to get his memories back.

A/N: So how was that? CODE GEASS RESURRECTION is out now but we can't watch it yet because there's still no subs! *Secretly envying those in Japan atm*

Okie, idk if there are still people out here reading my stories but if there are, why, thank you! I've been away for quite a while. Almost 2 years? I'm out from uni now and was kicked towards

the real world. Life after college is a lot harder than I thought. So how are you guys doing? I hope you guys are grand! Please leave a review and pray

for my job search *LOL I'm serious!*. Thanks for reading!

Saranghae,

Annie


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